Departments: Redundancy Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by her Department on redundancy payments in the last 12 months.

Rosie Winterton: The Department and its agencies had no compulsory redundancies in the 12 months ending March 2007.
	For the cost of the voluntary exit scheme for the 12 months ending March 2007, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (the hon. Member for Lincoln) on 2 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 1571-2W to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening).

Institute for Animal Health: Waste Disposal

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration was given to prioritising the repair and maintenance of the effluent pipes at Pirbright in the context of the current refurbishment of the site; what the estimated cost is of replacing the effluent pipes; and when his Department first obtained an estimate for such costs.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 17 September 2007
	 I have been asked to reply.
	The Pirbright Site Redevelopment Programme (PSRP) Board, comprising senior officials from BBSRC, DEFRA, DIUS, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) and the Institute for Animal Health (IAH), is responsible for overseeing the redevelopment of the site including the drainage.
	Tenders for the drainage system of around £220,000 were received in October 2006. DEFRA provided regulatory in early 2007. This scheme was approved by the PSRP Board in May 2007 and work began as planned in July 2007.

Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many fatalities each unit that has served in Iraq has experienced; and how many of those  (a) died in Iraq and  (b) subsequently died of wounds elsewhere.

Des Browne: holding answer 12 September 2007
	 The Ministry of Defence publishes data on battle and non-battle fatalities, including their unit that have resulted from our operations in Iraq since March 2003: details can be found on the Ministry of Defence website:
	(http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInIraqBritishfatalities.htm).
	This information is updated after each incident.
	The following table breaks down the number of military fatalities, by unit, in line with the information published on the website. In addition, one Defence Fire Service contractor has died on operations in Iraq.
	
		
			  Number of fatalities for UK armed forces personnel, Iraq, by Unit as at 6 September 2007 
			  Unit  Total 
			 Total 167 
			 1 (UK) Armoured Division HQ and Signal Regiment 1 
			 1 Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1 
			 1 Assault Group 1 
			 1 Black Watch 7 
			 1 Coldstream Guards 2 
			 1 Devonshire and Dorset Light Infantry 1 
			 1 Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) 1 
			 1 Irish Guards 4 
			 1 Light Infantry 1 
			 1 Princess of Wales Royal Regiment 2 
			 1 Queen's Dragoon Guards 2 
			 1 Queen's Lancashire Regiment 1 
			 1 Royal Highland Fusiliers 1 
			 1 Royal Horse Artillery 1 
			 1 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 1 
			 1 Royal Regiment of Wales 1 
			 1 Royal Welch Fusiliers 1 
			 1 Squadron RAF Regiment 3 
			 1 Staffordshire Regiment 4 
			 1 Yorkshire Regiment 1 
			 12 Regiment Royal Artillery 4 
			 148 Commando Battery Royal Artillery 1 
			 16 Squadron 1 
			 2 Duke of Lancaster's Regiment 8 
			 2 Light Infantry 2 
			 2 Parachute Regiment 2 
			 2 Rifles 3 
			 2 Royal Anglian Regiment 2 
			 2 Royal Green Jackets 1 
			 2 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 2 
			 2 Royal Tank Regiment 3 
			 2 Royal Welsh 3 
			 217 Transport Squadron 1 
			 21st Signal Regiment (Air Support) 1 
			 230 Squadron 1 
			 28 Army Co-operation Squadron 2 
			 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery 2 
			 3 Commando Brigade 6 
			 3 Parachute Regiment 1 
			 3 Royal Military Police 1 
			 3 Royal Regiment of Scotland 2 
			 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) 2 
			 33 Squadron 1 
			 35 Engineer Regiment 1 
			 4 Rifles 5 
			 45 Commando 1 
			 47 Squadron 5 
			 504 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force 1 
			 52nd Lowland Regiment 2 
			 539 Assault Squadron 1 
			 847 Naval Air Squadron 2 
			 849 Squadron 6 
			 9 Assault Squadron 1 
			 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) 1 
			 Army Air Corps 1 
			 Blues and Royals, Household Cavalry Regiment 3 
			 Cheshire Regiment 1 
			 Engineering Wing, RAF Lyneham 3 
			 HQ STC Air Staff 1 
			 Intelligence Corps 2 
			 IX (B) Squadron 2 
			 King's Royal Hussars 1 
			 Parachute Regiment 2 
			 Queen's Royal Lancers 5 
			 RAF Police 1 
			 Royal Army Medical Corps 3 
			 Royal Artillery 1 
			 Royal Corps of Signals 3 
			 Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 5 
			 Royal Logistic Corps 2 
			 Royal Military Police 11 
			 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers 1 
			 Royal Scots Dragoon Guards 2 
			 Tyne-Tees Regiment 1 
			 Welsh Guards 1 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of fatalities for UK armed forces personnel, who died as a result of their wounds (DOW) after being aeromeded from Iraq( 1) , by Unit, as at 4 September 2007 
			  Unit  Total 
			 Total 3 
			 1 Staffordshire Regiment 1 
			 12 Regiment Royal Artillery 1 
			 Royal Logistic Corps 1 
			 (1) Two armed forces personnel died as a result of injuries sustained in operational accidents (DOP) and are not included in the above table.

Alcoholic Drinks: Children

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded in respect of retailers selling alcohol to those aged under 18 years in each year since 1997; how many police cautions were issued; and what the average fine levied was.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 10 September 2007
	Information on the number of recorded offences of retailers selling alcohol to those aged under 18 years. Such offences are summary and are not included in the police recorded crime statistics.
	Statistics for the number of police cautions issued and the average fine have been provided by the Ministry of Justice and are given in the table for 1997-2005. Data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  Retailers selling alcohol to those aged under 18 
			   Num ber of police cautions issued( 1,2)  Average fine (£) 
			 1997 171 227 
			 1998 76 212 
			 1999 69 194 
			 2000 53 206 
			 2001 48 208 
			 2002 59 249 
			 2003 63 253 
			 2004 101 238 
			 2005 98 246 
			 (1 )These data are on a principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative databases generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

CCTV: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much central government funding has been spent on closed-circuit television in York since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 17 September 2007
	Since 1997, the Home Office has specifically provided the City of York with £268,000 for close circuit television.
	Other years' crime reduction funding has been allocated directly to the local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and Basic Command Unit in York to finance a variety of interventions, including CCTV. Information about the allocation of that funding is not held centrally.

Entry Clearances

Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-EU citizens who reside in the UK gained entry to the UK through applying for a UK visa from another European member state.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office does no collect the information requested.

Fines: Retail Trade

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences were recorded in respect of retailers selling video games or DVDs to underage customers in each year since 1997; how many police cautions were issued; and what the average fine levied was.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 10 September 2007
	Information on the number of recorded offences of retailers selling video games or DVDs to underage customers is not collected centrally. This is a summary offence and is not included in the police recorded crime statistics.
	Statistics for the number of police cautions issued and the average fine have been provided by the Ministry of Justice and are given in the table for 1997-2005. Data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  Retailers selling video games and DVDs to underage customers( 1) 
			   Number of police cautions issued( 2, 3)  Average fine (£) 
			 1997 1 519 
			 1998 — 440 
			 1999 — 798 
			 2000 — 1,028 
			 2001 — 1,378 
			 2002 — 1,079 
			 2003 1 921 
			 2004 — 775 
			 2005  489 
			 (1) Video Recording Act 1984 S.11 as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 S. 88 (4).4 (2) These data are on a principal offence basis.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative databases generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests have been made by  (a) the Paladin team,  (b) the Maxim team and  (c) the Human Smuggling Unit since their inception; and how many of those arrests have resulted in (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 10 September 2007
	The Paladin team was formed in October 2005 and became fully operational in February 2006. Since its inception they have arrested 25 people for trafficking-related incidents. They have had six convictions; all of these convictions are for facilitation. They have cautioned 11 persons all for "facilitation" or "harbouring" through their work at the Asylum Screening Unit.
	Operation Maxim has been operational since March 2003 and has achieved the following arrests since its inception:
	March 2003 to April 2004: 178 arrests
	April 2004 to April 2005: 194 arrests
	April 2005 to April 2006: 125 arrests
	April 2006 to April 2007: 123 arrests
	April 2007 to August 2007: 50 arrests.
	Maxim prosecution data only covers the last two years and these are:
	April 2005 to 2006: 46 persons prosecuted and convicted. Sentenced collectively 121 years and 5 months.
	April 2006 to 2007: 37 persons prosecuted and convicted. Sentenced collectively to76 years and 9.5 months.
	April 2007 to August 2007: 30 persons prosecuted and convicted. Sentenced collectively to 51 years and 2 months.
	Currently the Maxim Organised Immigration Team has a 100 per cent. conviction rate.
	The Human Trafficking Unit was launched on 7 March and is part of the Maxim team. Since its inception the unit has made 12 arrests for human trafficking. There are four cases currently on-going within the judicial system. There have been no convictions yet as all these cases are awaiting trial.

Offenders: Deportation

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convicted criminals were deported to their own country in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 17 September 2007
	On 14 June the Director General of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to the Home Affairs Committee to provide the most recent information available on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. In this letter the Director reported that 2,784 foreign national prisoners were deported or removed in the financial year 2006-07. A copy of this letter is available from the Library of the House.
	Statistics on the deportation of foreign nationals were last published in 2002. This data is available through the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.archive2.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm60/6053/6053.htm.
	Published information on persons removed as a result of deportation action has not been available from 2003 onwards due to data quality issues. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate is putting in place new systems to improve its data collection systems for the future in this area.

Passports: Fraud

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forged or false passports were seized at Heathrow and Gatwick airports in each of the last three years; and how many of those were from children.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 10 September 2007
	The activity of Airline Liaison Officers (ALOs) based overseas together with other border control initiatives, has resulted in a fall in Inadequately Documented Arrivals (IDAs) reaching the UK from 11,233 in 2004 to 6,915 in 2006. Over the last five years the ALO Network has assisted in preventing nearly 180,000 IDAs from boarding aircraft.
	Under carriers liability legislation, air and sea carriers may be liable for a charge of £2,000 for each person they carry to the UK who is subject to immigration control and who fails to produce either a valid immigration document satisfactorily establishing his identity and nationality or a valid visa, if required. Carriers' liability is now an important complement to our immigration control. Over 60 other countries, including most of Europe, have carrier liability legislation.
	Figures for forged and false travel documents detected at Heathrow and Gatwick airports for the past three years are as follows:
	
		
			  Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport 
			   Number 
			 2004 3,305 
			 2005 2,164 
			 2006 1,695 
		
	
	The information provided is based on locally collated management information and as such may be subject to change.
	Data relating to the age of those presenting such documentation is not available.

UK Commission for Employment and Skills

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) annual budget and  (b) number of staff for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills will be when it is established in 2008.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 26 July 2007
	I have been asked to respond to your query as it falls within my area of responsibility.
	To strengthen the employer voice at the heart of the employment and skills system the UK Commission implantation project are working with the devolved administrations to establish a new UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The UK Commission will be a UK-wide body with responsibilities across each of the four nations, and for skills at all levels, as set in the Leitch review of skills: 'Prosperity for all in the global economy—world class skills'
	The UK Commission will be primarily advisory, shaping strategy to achieve the Government's work class ambitions and will not have significant executive or operational functions. Sir Michael Rake has been appointed as the chair and we are currently recruiting for a chief executive and commissioners.
	The new UK Commission will open on 1 April 2008 and will incorporate those functions that the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and National Employment Panel (NEP) currently undertake that fall under the remit and responsibility of the new organisation.
	At this early stage of developments we are not yet in a position to be able to give defined numbers of staff and therefore an agreed budget.
	I am of course happy to provide you with figures and numbers once these have been established and agreed with Departments and senior officials within the new UK Commission.

Employment

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the Welfare to Work proposals set out in In Work, Better Off: Next steps to full employment, Cm 7130, with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Mike O'Brien: In developing policy proposals, we are always conscious of the obligations of the Human Rights Act. However, the Government are currently consulting on the proposals for change set out in In work, Better off: next steps to full employment. These are still at an early stage and a full assessment of human rights considerations would normally be made as and when it was needed as part of final decisions made on the direction of policy following consultation.

Jobseekers Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2007,  Official Report, column 1868W, on jobseekers allowance, how many and what percentage of new deal leavers  (a) moved on to other benefits and  (b) returned to other benefits on leaving employment (i) between six and 12 months and (ii) more than 12 months after leaving the programme in each year since 1998.

Mike O'Brien: Information on people returning to other benefits on leaving employment is not available.
	The available requested information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New deal 
			Moved on to other benefits between 6 and 12 months from date of leaving new deal  Moved on to other benefits more than 12 months from date of leaving new deal 
			   Number of leavers  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 1998 97,630 5,340 5 36,840 38 
			 1999 386,580 26,900 7 150,170 39 
			 2000 428,050 31,040 7 155,400 36 
			 2001 403,500 28,170 7 132,790 33 
			 2002 401,160 28,830 7 109,860 27 
			 2003 435,700 29,580 7 93,470 21 
			 2004 480,330 31,870 7 68,430 14 
			 2005 453,860 29,360 6 22,540 5 
			  Notes: 1. Data is based on all leavers from all new deal programmes. 2. Data on 'other benefits' refers to income support and incapacity benefit only as these are the only benefits linked to an individual being out of work. The data shows the number of leavers from new deal making new claims to either of those benefits in the periods concerned. 3. Latest complete year data is for 2005. The number and percentage of people moving to other benefits more than 12 months from the date of leaving new deal is based on benefit data to November 2006 (latest available). It would be expected that these numbers, particularly for later years, would rise as more up-to-date benefit data becomes available. 4. If a person has two separate periods on benefit, one between six and 12 months after leaving new deal, and one more than 12 months after leaving new deal, only the benefit period between six and 12 months is included in the table.  Source: Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions

State Retirement Pensions: Males

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many men aged  (a) 65,  (b) 66,  (c) 67,  (d) 68,  (e) 69,  (f) 70,  (g) 71,  (h) 72,  (i) 73 and  (j) 74 are currently receiving state pensions of 98 per cent. or less of the full rate.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 17 September 2007
	The information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Age  Number of males 
			 65 49,600 
			 66 61,500 
			 67 63,400 
			 68 62,200 
			 69 60,000 
			 70 57,700 
			 71 49,800 
			 72 45,600 
			 73 44,100 
			 74 40,700 
			  Notes: 1. Data is taken from 5 per cent. extract of the Pension Service computer system, therefore figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall case load from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 3. Figures are based on 98 per cent. or less of the full rate of state pension as at September 2006 which was £84.25 per week and exclude cases with no basic state pension in payment. 4. Figures include cases residing abroad where the rate of pension would be frozen and not uprated each year.  Source: DWP Information Directorate.

Tax Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2007,  Official Report, column 895W, on tax credit, how many  (a) individuals and  (b) households were beneficiaries of (i) both means-tested assistance and tax credits, (ii) means-tested assistance or tax credits, (iii) means-tested assistance and or tax credits, (iv) tax credits and (v) means-tested assistance in (A) 1979, (B) 1992, (C) 1997 and (D) 2007.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 10 September 2007
	The information is not available in the format requested.
	Because of the changes to income-related benefits since 1979, and the different types of data and methods of collection employed over the years, it is not possible to provide directly comparable figures for each of the years sought.
	The information provided in the previous reply of 17 May 2007,  Official Report, column 895W, was derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS information is not available for 1979 and 1992. Tax credits were introduced in 1999 and replaced family credit. The available information for family credit in 1997-98 and tax credits in 2005-06—the most recent year for which information is available—is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Households and individuals in Great Britain who are in receipt of various combinations of income-related benefits and family credit, 1997-98 
			   Individuals  Households 
			 Both income-related benefits and Family Credit 310,000 320,000 
			 Income-related benefits or Family Credit 6,360,000 6,130,000 
			 Income-related benefits and/or Family Credit 6,670,000 6,450,000 
			 Family Credit 580,000 580,000 
			 Income-related benefits 6,390,000 6,180,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Households and individuals in Great Britain who are in receipt of various combinations of income-related benefits and tax credits, 2005-06 
			   Individuals  Households 
			 Both income-related benefits and tax credits 790,000 850,000 
			 Income-related benefits or tax credits 8,420,000 8,030,000 
			 Income-related benefits and/or tax credits 9,210,000 8,880,000 
			 Tax credits 4,180,000 4,170,000 
			 Income-related benefits 5,820,000 5,560,000 
			  Notes: 1. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 26,000 households in 2005-06 and 23,000 households in 1997-98. 2. Data is shown for Great Britain only for both 1997-98 and 2005-06. (Northern Ireland joined the survey in 2002-03, so UK data is not available for 1997-98.) 3. Data for 2005-06 was collected between April 2005 and March 2006; 1997-98 was collected between April 1997 and March 1998. 4. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the FRS to Government office region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error. 5. Tax credit and income-related benefits receipt is under-reported on the FRS. This will mean that the FRS estimates are likely to be under-estimates. However, there is no other reliable source for this information at a household level. 6. Figures for the number of households and persons have been rounded to the nearest 10,000. 7. Individuals and households in receipt of either tax credit, working tax credit or child tax credit have been counted. 8. There are more households than persons because different individuals within the household might receive the benefits and tax credits. 9. 'Income-related benefits' includes income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, council tax benefit, housing benefit, and for 2005-06 only, pension credit.  Source: Family Resources Surveys 1997-98 and 2005-06. 
		
	
	Information on the number of claimants of the various income-related benefits for each of the four years is available from DWP Information. However, similar figures are not available for households. Supplementary benefit was the only income-related benefit available in 1979. Income support replaced supplementary benefit in 1988. Income-based jobseeker's allowance replaced income support for the unemployed in 1996. Pension credit replaced income support, and expanded the availability of income-related benefits, for pensioners in 2003. Housing benefit, in its current form, was introduced in 1988. Community charge benefit was introduced in 1990 and was replaced by council tax benefit in 1993.
	The available information is in the following table
	
		
			  Claimants of income-related benefits in Great Britain 
			   SB  IS  JSA (IB)  HB/CCB  HB/CTB  PC 
			 1979 2,855,000 (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— (1)— 
			 1992 (1)— 5,088,000 (1)— 3,080,000 (1)— (1)— 
			 May 1997 (1)— 3,977,100 1,219,000 (1)— 2,330,000 (1)— 
			 February 2007 (1)— 2,134,170 707,700 (1)— (1)— 2,730,940 
			 (1) Figures are not available.  Notes: 1. 'SB' is supplementary benefit; 'IS' is income support; 'JSA (IB)' is income-based jobseeker's allowance; 'HB' is housing benefit; 'CCB' is community charge benefit; 'CTB' is council tax benefit; and 'PC' is pension credit. 2. Overlaps between benefits have been removed. 3. Due to the estimation procedure used to remove the overlaps between housing benefit and council tax benefit, HB/CTB figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000. 4. JSA 5 per cent. figures have been uprated using 5 per cent. proportions against 100 per cent. totals of WPLS data. 5. HB data excludes any extended payment cases. 6. CTB data excludes second adult rebate cases. 7. Some income-based JSA claimants may also have entitlement to benefit via the contributory route.  Source: Information Directorate, 5 per cent. and 1 per cent. samples; 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study; Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample. 
		
	
	HMRC's snapshot publication estimates the number of out of work claimants who receive either child tax credit or the equivalent through benefits. It shows that as at April 2007, there were 1,398,000 out of work families with children of which 927,000 received child tax credit and the remaining 471,000 received the equivalent in benefits. The full HMRC publication is available online at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/ctc-wtc-snapshot-apr07.pdf

Education Maintenance Allowance: York

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many students at education institutions in York were receiving education maintenance allowances in 2006-07; and what the total expenditure on the allowances in York was in the 2006-07 academic year.

Jim Knight: holding answer 10 September 2007
	This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council, who operate the education maintenance allowance (EMA) on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and hold the information about take-up and payments under the scheme. Mark Haysom, the Council's chief executive, has written to my hon. Member with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Rob Wye, dated 20 September 2007:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked - How many students at education institutions in York are receiving education maintenance allowances; and what the total expenditure on the allowances in York was in the last year for which figures are available.
	Information on the number of young people who have applied, enrolled and received Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) is available at Local Authority Level. EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
	EMA take-up for York is 1,327.
	Expenditure on EMA payments to learners are held at National level, but not broken down to local authority level. EMA payments to learners during academic year 2006/2007 totaled £483 million. The data is available at http://www.lsc.gov.uk/providers/Data/statistics/learner/EMA_take_up.htm
	I hope you find this information useful.

Teachers: Training

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Minister for Women and Equality on the decision to require mature students born before 1 September 1979 to have a GCSE at grade C or above (or recognised equivalent) in science in order to begin initial teacher training;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the number of applicants for initial teacher training courses since 2006 who have had applications voided as a result of the decision to require mature students born before 1 September 1979 to have a GCSE at grade C or above (or recognised equivalent) in science in order to begin initial teacher training.

Jim Knight: Prior to October 2006, teacher training providers were required to ensure that all candidates entering primary teacher training had achieved a standard equivalent to a grade C in the GCSE examination in a science subject. This was because primary trainees were normally required to teach the whole curriculum, including maths, English and science and would be better prepared to train to teach these subjects if they have demonstrated the GCSE equivalent in them. However, an exemption had been applied for those born before 1 September 1979 as this coincided with the date at which science became compulsory at key stage 4 of the National Curriculum for people born after that date.
	I have had no meetings with the Minister for Women and Equality. Last year the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) took advice from the DTI (the sponsors of the legislation) and from ACAS and both confirmed that the original requirement which referred to entrants born after 1 September 1979 would be discriminatory as defined by the new age discrimination legislation that came into force on 1 October 2006.
	In order to comply with the new legislation, the TDA therefore removed the exemption for those born before 1 September 1979 and applied the requirement to all primary entrants recruited on or after 1 October 2006, and alerted training providers to the change in the entry requirement. Offers made prior to this date for places on courses beginning after it could stand as they were made prior to the legislation being introduced but any candidates offered places after 1 October 2007 would need to demonstrate the GCSE science standard.
	The requirement is for a standard of science knowledge, rather than a requirement to hold a particular qualification, and applicants with no formal qualifications in science can demonstrate this standard via a variety of means. Some teacher training providers offer equivalency tests; others use subject knowledge audits to test this standard. Some providers have worked with further education colleges to offer extra GCSE science courses and the TDA has worked with both providers and their associations to ensure that effective practice in meeting the needs of applicants is shared.
	No data is held on the number of unsuccessful applications to primary initial teacher training and it is not therefore possible to determine whether any applications have been voided as a result of removing the exemption for older applicants.

Graduates: Employment

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the average time taken for a university graduate to find employment following graduation has been in each of the last 10 years; and what the average starting salary of a university graduate was in each such year.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 17 September 2007
	The latest available data is taken from the Destination of Leavers in Higher Education (DLHE) Survey which has been published annually by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) for the past four years.
	The DLHE Survey captures the first destinations of graduates, six months after leaving university. The most recent information available is for those who graduated in 2005/06 who were surveyed in early 2007. Figures are given in the table.
	
		
			  UK and EU domiciled full time first degree graduates by first destination six months after qualifying , a cademic years 2002/03 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Percentage of leavers in employment  Percentage of leavers in employment and further study  Percentage of leavers in further study  Percentage of leavers assumed unemployed  Percentage of leaver in other( 1)  destinations 
			 2002/03 63 8 16 7 6 
			 2003/04 63 9 16 7 5 
			 2004/05 63 8 16 7 6 
			 2005/06 63 8 16 6 7 
			 (1) Includes those students who are not available for, or not looking for, employment.  Source:  HESA Destination of Leavers in Higher Education Survey 
		
	
	In the longer term, studies have shown that graduate unemployment decreases over time and that four years after graduating, unemployment rates have fallen to 2-3 per cent. (3 per cent. for men and 2 per cent. for women), and 90 per cent. are in employment.
	The Labour Force Survey shows that holders of HE qualifications are more than half as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates, at 2.8 per cent. and 6.5 per cent. respectively.
	The available information on average starting salaries, for those in employment six months after qualifying, are given in the table.
	
		
			  Average starting salaries of UK and EU domiciled first degree graduates ( 1)  in full time employment , a cademic years 2002/03 to 2005/06 
			  Academic year  Average starting salary( 2)  (£) 
			 2002/03 17,000 
			 2003/04 18,000 
			 2004/05 19,000 
			 2005/06 19,000 
			 (1) from both full and part time modes of study (2) figures rounded to the nearest thousand  Source:  HESA Destination of Leavers in Higher Education Survey

Higher Education: Expenditure

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much funding was given to  (a) higher education institutions,  (b) further education colleges for higher education activity and  (c) further education colleges for further education activity from each relevant public sector budget, including European Union funding, in the last year for which figures are available.

Bill Rammell: For  (a) funding for higher education institutions, the data from the HESA finance record for 2005-06 is at (Annex A) as follows.
	
		
			  Annex A: public income received by HEFCE funded HEIs 2005-06 
			   £ million 
			 Funding council grants 6,121 
			 Home and EC fees paid by SLC, LEAs, SAAS, DEL Ml, DH +full-time fees paid from other sources 1,410 
			 Research income: Research councils 893 
			 Research income: UK cent Government 441 
			 Research income: EU Government 173 
			 Other income: UK cent Government 329 
			 Other income: Grants from local authorities 2 
			 Other income: Income from health and hospital authorities 256 
			 Total public income 9,626 
			  Source: HESA finance record, Table 5a and 5b 
		
	
	As part of  (b), the HEFCE recurrent funding that we allocated to directly-funded further education colleges (FECs) in 2005-06 was £147 million (source: HEFCE 2005/43 'Recurrent grants for 2005-06: final allocations'). In addition to this, special funding and capital allocations to directly-funded FECs in 2005-06 totalled £24 million.
	Funding for FECs that are indirectly funded is within that of the HEI funding and is not separately identifiable.
	As for (c), the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for funding of Further Education colleges. In 2006-07 financial year, total expenditure by the LSC on further education was £4,979 million; this figure excludes expenditure by LSC on further education colleges funded through the European Social Fund (ESF). Details of ESF expenditure is a matter for the LSC as they determine these matters. Mark Haysom, the Council's chief executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with further information. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 18 September 2007:
	I am responding to the second part of your question to the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills on your question around funding for further education colleges for further education activity from each relevant public sector budget, including European Union funding, in the last year for which figures are available.
	In addition to the £4,979m total expenditure by the LSC on further education in the 2006-07 financial year already provided in the written reply of 11(th) July, an additional £55m of European Social Fund was also spent in further education colleges.